


Hush Little Baby

by tuxedomarch



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Canon Related, Fluff, Growing Up, No Incest, Other, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Love, Siblings, Singing, care, lullaby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-16
Updated: 2016-12-16
Packaged: 2018-09-08 22:58:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8866762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tuxedomarch/pseuds/tuxedomarch
Summary: Sasuke has always had a favourite lullaby since he was born, and Itachi would always sing it whenever Sasuke was angry or sad.





	

Little six year old Itachi poked his head around the corner, watching his mother bounce his newborn baby brother carefully in her arms. The baby was crying loudly, his small face beat read from the loud sobs. Mikoto Uchiha gingerly thumbed away the tears falling down his face and sang so gracefully, 

 

“ _Hush little baby, don’t say a word. Mama’s gonna buy you a mockingbird,_ ” she sang quietly as Sasuke began to simmer down on his crying. “ _And if that mockingbird don't sing, mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring,_ ”

 

Once Sasuke fell back to peace, Itachi walked up to his mother, pulling on her apron.

 

“How did you get my baby brother to stop crying?” Itachi asked quietly, being careful not to wake the sleeping baby.

 

Mikoto smiled and moved Sasuke into one arm to run her hand through Itachi’s hair, “It’s his favourite song, sweetheart.” she said, rocking Sasuke in her arm.

 

“His favourite song?” Itachi asked, tilting his head and then looking up at the baby’s sleeping face.

 

“It puts your little brother at peace, no matter how angry or sad he is, that song lulls him to sleep and tranquility.” She explained, kissing Sasuke’s forehead and giving Itachi a loving rub on the head before leaving to place Sasuke in his crib.

 

Itachi stood in the kitchen, “I see…” he said to himself, before running out of the room for one of his nursery rhyme books.

 

~*~

 

Little 12 month old Sasuke sat in the middle of the living room, rubbing his eyes and crying hard. The little child cried and cried, “Mama! Mama!” He repeated, sobbing in between words.

 

Itachi, just a simple 7 year old, stood behind the child with concern. Their mother had left a few minutes earlier to head to the market, leaving Itachi with the child for 10 minutes at most.

 

“Please stop crying, baby brother.” Itachi said to comfort the crying child.

 

“Mama Mama!” Sasuke repeated, waving his arms in anger in the air as more tears fell down his face.

 

Itachi pouted but rested his hand on the baby's back, gently rubbing Sasuke’s back, and sang,

 

“ _If that diamond ring turns to brass, brother’s gonna buy you a looking glass_ ,” Sasuke’s crying stopped, all that was left was a quivering lower lip and big ol’ puppy eyes facing Itachi as he continued the lullaby.

 

The baby Sasuke faced Itachi with his hands outstretched to him, “Eh...Eh…” the baby babbled. Itachi leaned down and brought baby Sasuke into his arms, rocking the baby back and forth, tiny hands clinging to his clothes until the little Sasuke fell into a peaceful slumber in the arms of his older brother.

 

~*~

 

Five year old Sasuke stomped up to his room, angrily slamming his door shut. “I’ll never be as good as Itachi! You know that dad, you idiot!” He yelled from inside his room.

 

Itachi was sitting in the kitchen with his mother, the eleven year old was just as confused as his mother as to why Sasuke was in such an awful mood. Fugaku followed into the house and into the kitchen, sighing in defeat.

 

“What did you do to the poor boy to get him so worked up?” Mikoto asked with worry in her voice.

 

“Sasuke got about 3 of the 20 targets in today’s shuriken practice.” Fugaku explained, leaning against the doorway and looking up to wear Sasuke’s room is. “And I told him that it’s a known that all Uchiha are experts at shuriken throwing, as Itachi and I are...sadly he didn’t take it very well.”

 

Itachi frowned, did his brother really think that he couldn’t throw shuriken?

 

Itachi snuck away from his parents discussing the fact and headed towards his brothers room. He carefully knocked on the door only greeted by an angrily muffled, “Go away.”

 

“Little brother, it’s me...don’t worry.” Itachi said softly, pressing his hands on the door.

 

“I don’t want to see you, big brother.”

 

“Then you don’t have to look at me. You can cover your eyes, I just want to talk to you.” Itachi said. There was a moment of silence and then some rustling.

 

A big blue sheet covering Sasuke’s form opened the door, “Heh, what are you doing little brother?” Itachi asked giving a half amused grin.

 

“No part of me wants to see you, so I’m using my shield.” Sasuke said from under his ghost like sheet. Sasuke waddled back to the center of his room and sat back down, still under his blanket.

 

Itachi quietly laughed at how adorable his little brother truly was, but remembered what he was there for. He walked over to the center of the room and sat next to the blanket of his brother.

 

“Why are you so angry, little brother? Anything I can do to make you feel better?” Itachi asked.

 

“Humph!” Came an angry sigh from under the blanket. “Dad kept tellin’ me about how ‘Uchiha’s have a born gift!’ and all that stupid stuff!! He doesn’t think I’m trying!!” came Sasuke’s angry reply.

 

“Now now, Dad doesn’t think tha-”

“I can’t throw shuriken. I’ll never be able to. Dad wants me…” a small sniff came from Sasuke, “Dad wants me to be like you. But I can’t be you!! You are Itachi!! I’m just...baby Sasuke…” Sasuke’s wobbled reply came.

 

“Sasuke,” Itachi said, placing his hand on Sasuke’s blanket covered back, “You know that’s not true. You’re still so young, you have so much room to grow and get better. I’m here for you.” Itachi explained, pulling Sasuke into a sitting hug, nuzzling the top of the blanket where his brothers head was.

 

Small sobs came from under the blanket, Itachi’s heart broke once more. He always felt sad when his brother cried, but this time, it was almost partially Itachi’s fault for being so advanced at his ninja studies.

 

“ _And if that looking glass gets broke,_ ” Itachi quietly sung, rubbing his brothers back, rocking him back and forth, “ _brother’s gonna buy you a billy goat._ ”. Itachi continued his lullaby, and Sasuke lifted the blanket, revealing his red, tear-stained face.

 

“Will things get better? Do you think I can do it?” Sasuke asked quietly.

 

Itachi smiled softly at his brother, wiping away some of his tears. “Of course I believe in you. You’re my little brother, you mean the world to me.”

 

“I love you big brother.” Sasuke said, leaning on his brother's shoulder and closing his eyes to doze off.

“I love you too little brother.” Itachi whispered, wrapping his brother in a blanket as he napped.

 

~*~

 

“I...Itachi….” Sasuke asked, terrified, staring at the bodies of his slain parents as Itachi stood over them, blood dripping from him.

 

Itachi gave his younger brother a menacing look, Sasuke stumbled backwards, shaking uncontrollably. Itachi straightened his back, continuing to stare at Sasuke as menacingly as possible, his sharingan illuminating the darkness and staring right into Sasuke’s petrified soul.

 

“B..big bro-brother….why….” Sasuke said, staring at his brother. Tears streaming down his face as he stared with pin-sized pupils.

Itachi stared right into Sasuke’s eyes, their parents death replaying over and over again in front of Sasuke. Itachi’s genjutsu holding Sasuke hostage.

 

When Itachi’s released his hold on Sasuke, the young boy fell to the ground, tears falling from his face as he lay with his mind blank. In physical and mental pain, the seven year old Sasuke trembled uncontrollably, spit and tears falling from his face to the floor.

 

Itachi looked down at his little brother, his sharingan still a menacing red, “Pathetic.” was all he said before he fled the scene of the Uchiha Clan massacre.

 

Outside of the now slaughtered clan’s home, Itachi sat on a roof with tears streaming down his own face. “I-...I’m so sorry, my precious little brother…” Itachi said, holding his face in his hands, sobbing in the moonlight. “I hope you can forgive me for my sins…” He said.

 

Itachi looked up to the moon, a tear fell down his face as he sang the lullaby, “ _If that billy goat doesn’t pull, brother’s gonna buy you a cart and a bull._ ” Knowing Sasuke wouldn’t hear the lullaby that always lulled him to sleep, never again, Itachi sung it to the moon.

 

Hoping that Sasuke would hear it in his soul as he laid withering on the floor of their home. Heartbroken and alone.

 

~*~

 

“Like hell I’m letting you Akastuki take him!” Jiraiya snarled, getting in front of Naruto to protect him from Itachi and Kisame.

 

“You’re making a grave mistake, Jiraiya-...”

 

“Itachi!” A voice resounded through the hallway.

 

Itachi and Kisame turned to Sasuke, dressed in all black with an angry look on his face, the sharingan activated and staring at Itachi.

 

“Looks like we got another Uchiha joining the party, eh?” Kisame said half amused.

 

“Hmph. He’s no less Uchiha than I am.” Itachi scoffed, narrowing his eyes at his brother, as much as it hurt him on the inside to speaking so horribly of his brother, it was for Sasuke’s own good.

 

“I’ll kill you, bastard!” Sasuke hissed, doing the hand signs and aiming his hand down, lightning beginning to form in his palm.

 

“I’ll blast you to hell!!” Sasuke yelled, running down the hallway, the chidori gaining more energy in his hand.

 

“Sasuke no!” Jiraiya yelled, but it was too late. Itachi evaded the attack with ease, slamming his younger brother into a wall with a simple throw of his fist.

 

“How pathetic.” Itachi said, as his brother lay against the wall. Sasuke gritted his teeth, shakily standing up. Sasuke reached into his weapons pouch, suddenly throwing multiple shuriken at his brother, which were easily dodged and blocked.

 

“Get rid of him Itachi, that brat’s gettin on my nerves.” Kisame said with his usual grin.

 

Sasuke was once again slammed into the wall, with much more force than last time.

 

“Shut up.” Itachi said coldly, his sharingan staring into Sasuke’s own. “Or do I need to give you a reason to shut up?” Itachi growled, as Sasuke slipped once again into Itachi’s genjutsu. The deaths of their parents replaying in his head numerous times.

 

“Itachi! Let’s get out of here!” Kisame’s voice boomed out, Itachi released Sasuke from the genjutsu as he and Kisame fled the scene before Jiraiya could trap them.

 

“Your little brother is one hell of a brat.” Kisame stated once they were outside of the building, heading outside to the base.

 

“Shut up.” was all Itachi said. His heart ached, the first time of him seeing his brother all these years and he had to relive that day of the massacre over and over. The thing that turned him into a missing nin.

 

Itachi thought about Sasuke’s now withered body that Jiraiya and Naruto have to tend to, just like it was back when Sasuke was 7 was now happening all over again. Itachi knew Sasuke felt a mix of hurt and anger.

 

“ _If that cart and bull turn over, brother’s gonna buy you a dog named Rover._ ” Itachi’s soul sang out to Sasuke as he and Kisame lept away.

 

~*~

 

Itachi laid on the ground, coughing up blood. He looked as Sasuke loomed above him. Sasuke had finally reached the age where he learned the dark truth behind the Uchiha clan.

 

“Big brother…” Sasuke said quietly as the wind blew gently.

 

Itachi struggled to sit up, spitting up more blood with hard coughs. He looked up at Sasuke who had kneeled down to hold his brother in his arms.

 

“Don’t talk. I’m glad...that you’re the one to defeat me,” Itachi said weakly, “You are...stronger than I ever could be…”

“Itachi…” Sasuke said, tears forming in his eyes and threatening to fall.

 

Itachi smiled weakly as blood dripped from his mouth, “Do you remember your lullaby? It always calmed you down when you were younger…”

 

“Now isn’t the time for that, idiot big brother!” Sasuke said between a few strangled sobs, obviously trying to keep his composure.

 

“ _If that dog...doesn’t bark…_ ” Itachi sang slowly, his eyes slowly shutting, “ _brother’s gonna buy you….a horse...and a cart….._ ” Itachi’s voice droned down as he took his last breath, singing the lullaby to his baby brother one last time.

 

Sasuke held Itachi’s head and mourned his elder brothers death.

 

~*~

 

Sasuke walked up to the simple headstone, placing a simple vase at the base of the grave. Paying his condolences to his fallen comrades.

 

“Papa?” a young girl asked asked as Sasuke was setting another vase at another grave.

 

“Yes, Sarada?”

 

“Who are we giving all of these Orchids to?” Sarada asked, holding up a vase full of blooming beautiful orchid flowers.

 

Sasuke smiled, adjusting his cloak. “Follow me.” He said, walking to an area of the with fewer graves.

 

“Papa! It’s our clan symbol!” Sarada acknowledged in surprise, pointing to a headstone.

 

“This is who we are giving the orchids to, Sarada.” Sasuke said, taking the flowers with his hand and setting it at the base of the headstone reading “Itachi Uchiha”.

 

“Papa? Who was Itachi?” Sarrada asked her father.

 

Sasuke knelt down, patting Sarada’s head, “Itachi Uchiha was a true ninja.” was all Sasuke said.

 

“Sarada, why don’t you start heading out. I’ll catch up in a second, ok?” Sasuke asked. Sarada nodded and turned around to leave, thinking her father needed a second with the grave to mourn in peace.

 

Sasuke placed his hand on the headstone and closed his eyes,

 

Sasuke began to quietly sing the ending part of the lullaby Itachi would always sing to him in his time of need,

 

“ _Even if that horse and cart fall down, you’ll still be the best little baby in town. So hush little baby, everything's gonna be alright~_.”

**Author's Note:**

> this was my fav lullaby as a child, and i had always wanted to write a itachi/sasuke fic where itachi is caring for sasuke. maybe i'll write an itachi/baby sasuke fic one day.


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